Donald Trump 'refused to give Chris Christie top job after governor offered him his germ-covered phone'

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie may not be in Donald Trump's Cabinet because of an election night mistake involving the President's germaphobia and a mobile.

Bloomberg Businessweek's Joshua Green has written a book, titled Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency, which details the 8 Nov incident when Mr Christie allegedly said to Mr Trump: “If you win, [President Obama is] going to call my phone, and I’ll pass it over to you.”

Mr Trump, according to Mr Green's accounting, angrily rebuffed the offer to use someone else's mobile because of their germs so close to his face. He "flashed a look of annoyance, clearly resenting the intrusion" by Mr Christie into his personal space at a tense time of the vote count that night.

Mr Christie and Mr Obama had become closer in the wake of the Hurricane Sandy disaster, when the President had mobilised federal emergency aid to the state to aid in recovery.

"Hey Chris, you know my f****** phone number. Just give it to the president. I don’t want your f******phone."

Mr Christie "wouldn't recover" from the incident and was never offered a position in the Trump administration, Mr Green wrote, according to excerpts of the book acquired by the Daily Mail.

The book also makes the claim that Trump aides said it was the "ultimate mistake" and what led to Mr Christie's sacking as transition team lead.

He also reportedly made a faux pas by forcing his way into photos with Mr Trump on election night after the mobile incident.

Brian Murray, Mr Christie's press secretary, told The Independent that "the account in the book is complete fiction".

He said that Mr Christie did not "make any arrangements for any phone call from The White House to be placed on his cell phone for the President-elect".

Mr Murray noted that "the author should be ashamed of himself in passing off this account as true. It is fiction."

Mr Trump's germaphobia may not have been the only reason for Mr Christie's post-election ousting from the inner circle.